The ‘Calvari House’ by ENDALT Arquitectes

The Calvari house is designed as a sequence of spaces that progressively enters an inner world typical of traditional Valencian architecture: the corral, a small backyard

In this project, an attempt has been made to preserve as much as possible, leaving remnants of the original elements as a tribute to those who built, rebuilt or lived in this house. The design has tried to create an architecture that is remembered without an architect, that results from the collective knowledge and the fruit of the accumulated experience of the generations that preceded them.

As we enter the house we gain privacy until we find the living room, which takes a breath of tranquillity and freshness through a custom folding window. In the centre of this corral, an old lemon tree pays tribute to those who lived in this house and harvested its fruits for generations.

The subsequent promenade is designed to be a reminder of those houses that still today occupy the historic centres of the towns of the Valencian agricultural plains. The spaces are linked with different functions, not always defined, but with meaning: an entrance that reveals the entire original volume of the house and its sloping roof, a study room that is transformed into a guest room, a small library, a living space, a dining room, and more.

The space flows continuously, interrupted only by the memory of a door that filters and protects the true heart of the house: a corral that wants to be part of the room and a room that wants to be part of the corral. Beyond these spaces, in the depths of the house, a space appears, reserved for the most exceptional guests, those who deserve to enter the depths of the host’s soul.

The first floor is dedicated to the main room as the only space on this level accommodating different uses in a way that breaks the idea of privacy in exchange for its privileged location in the volume of greatest significance.
At the rear, once the original volume of the first house has been surpassed, a pavilion was built by eliminating the extensions of little constructive value, to reinterpret them. For this new space, which houses the day area, a set of two horizontal planes supported by four pillars is generated. The metal structure allows a language of our time with a space that contrasts with the first volume of the building.

This pavilion reinforces the relationship between the day area and the corral: a large opening is created between the walls, eliminating all intermediate supports and providing a custom folding window that facilitates a relationship between the spaces. At the same time, the placement of this window with respect to the planes allows the creation of an intermediate covered external space, which helps to dilute the line between interior and exterior in the manner of a Japanese engawa.

FACTFILE

• PROJECT: Casa del Calvari
• ARCHITECTS: ENDALT Arquitectes
• Photographs: David Zarzoso